'Prospect Park Boathouse Fall' by Eli Mergel is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
‘Re:New Prospect Park’ is returning for a second year
The Prospect Park Alliance is bringing back its volunteer-supported program aimed at maintaining Brooklyn's backyard
Prospect Park is once again seeking a little TLC from the people who use it the most.
The Prospect Park Alliance is bringing back a volunteer-supported program for a second year aimed at maintaining Brooklyn’s backyard. “Re:New Prospect Park” initially launched in 2021 after more than a year of pandemic living had brought waves of visitors—and a lot of wear and tear—to the park.
Beginning this month and lasting until October, volunteers will be deployed to clean and maintain the park by adding new trash cans in high-traffic areas and completing improvement projects like installing new picnic tables and fixing pedestrian pathways.
Volunteers interested in participating can apply on the Prospect Park Alliance’s website. Last year, they removed 2.6 tons of “invasive vines and weeds,” replenished playground’s sandboxes and painted more than 270 feet of railings and 121 benches.
“Prospect Park has been so important for all of us these last two years,” said Prospect Park Alliance Interim President James Snow, in a release. “Our community has supported the park as volunteers, donors and advocates, and enabled us to sustain this essential green oasis.”
Some of funding and resources is coming from Amazon and ACE New York, a nonprofit that “empowers the homeless” through projects.
Of course, more money from the mayor’s office might be nice too. Local politicians and union members are pleading Mayor Eric Adams to make good on his campaign promise to boost spending on the parks. As things stand now, federally funded positions are set to expire and Adams has actually cut spending in the city’s green spaces. About 1,800 workers of the Parks Department “cleanup corps” could see their positions eliminated if funding isn’t secured, according to Gothamist.
